


Snow on an Infinite Sun

by UnKnown_Drive



Series: UK_D's Dungeon Fighter Expanse [1]
Category: Dungeon Fighter Online (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Tragedy, Anti-Hero, Comedy, Death, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Group Journey, Heroes & Heroines, Heroes to Villains, Multi, Personal Growth, Villains, Villains to Heroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2019-09-17 07:54:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16970703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnKnown_Drive/pseuds/UnKnown_Drive
Summary: A web of tangled fates. Worlds and the civilizations that reside within them on the path to erasure. One boy's will. This is his story: The conflict that resides within him, the conflicts that reside outside, and the stories of all that lend their hand to him. Many people will don him many names -- hero, killer, ruthless, selfless -- but one thing will stay consistent: He was given a second chance at life, and it will not be put to waste.





	1. Pale Dawn

A pure white cloud emanates from my breath.

 

“This is it, kid. There’s no turning back now,” I hear from the old man’s tired voice.

 

“I know.”

 

“You’d want to see Sharan to know the full story, but...” he pauses, with a sullen tone. “...this is when your body’ll start to become colder. You’ll gain more power, but your body will crystallize and become numb over time. And you know it won’t be just physically...”

 

I look down, close my eyes, and nod.

 

He sighs, a look of sadness and concern dons his weathered face. “...you really don’t have anyone close to you?”

 

I shake my head.

 

“Then I suppose you should keep it that way….. I’m sorry, that came off the wrong way. Never thought I’d have to say that to a kid...”

 

I raise my hand and gesture to him that no harm was done from his words.

 

“Is this really the way you want to redeem yourself?”

 

I look at my hand and move it around, watching cold, frosty air defy the warm summer day that permeates the forest. “I was a coward and a thug, and yet I was not only given another chance at life, but a power far beyond what I could ever imagine. I can’t risk anything getting in the way of wasting such a gift.”

 

He looks at me for a while, shuts his eyes, then sighs again, softer and with a hint of hesitant acceptance. “So be it.”

 

He points his finger towards the forest, with my eyes following suit. “Follow that path down a ways, it’ll take you right to Arad. Small, white buildings guarded by knights of the Empire, you can’t miss it.”

 

“Thanks, Linus.”

 

“No problem, kid,” Linus retorts with a smile. I sling my bag over my shoulder and make my way towards the forest.

 

“Hey...” Linus calls out to me. I turn around back at him.

 

“Make sure to visit Seria before you go.”

 

I nodded back, feeling destiny weigh on my shoulders, and set out to wrap up business in Elvenguard first. There were still some zombies and goblins left in Shadow Thunderland, as my haste to help Seria purify the forest made me leave a number of creatures behind. If there was any time to practice these powers, now would be the best.

 

* * *

 

 On my way to the darker side of the forest, I spent my time trying to formulate ice from my hands. I could create frosty mist from my palm, and I briefly spawned a small ice crystal, but I wasn’t able to hold it in the air for long before it melted. I decided that maybe I shouldn’t be distracted finding my way through the trees, and looked around to find a clearing of some sort. It took some squinting, but I saw a large boulder off the trail, through somewhat dense foliage. I made my way to it to see if there was room to test things out, a bit of target practice.

 

Wiping leaves and sticks off my shirt, I found that the boulder had a fairly small, but roomy enough clearing to its north side. I set my bag down next to a stump, took position to the farthest side of it, planted my feet, and extended my arm forward.

 

1, 2, 3, 4. Energy orbs shoot out from my palm to the boulder, straight-lined, and made enough of an impact to crack it.

 

Good. I’m still able to concentrate basic mana despite the change. For good measure, I swiped my hand up quickly, and a gust of strong wind came as soon as it passed. Whether I’ll still be able to use these abilities in their current form in the future is unclear, but at least the fundamental magic I’ve learned so far is as easy to cast as it was before. I’m even able to ignite flames still, though I doubt that’ll last.

 

Now, for water. I clasped my hands together and heaved them forward, and a large ball of water shot at the boulder, splashing it forcefully. So, if I just clasp my hands together for a bit longer, concentrate, and freeze the water…

 

_-_ _plop-_

 

While it came out as forcefully as the water orb, it was nothing but slush, and just splayed across the grass. I try again, giving myself more time to concentrate the ice, and it did harden more… into a puff of snow.

 

I may be thinking too big here. I need to start smaller.

 

I chucked another energy orb at the boulder, and it traveled its path fine. Now if I can do the same motion, but using ice…

 

A snowball.

 

Growing a bit frustrated, I kept at it over and over. Every throw gradually made the orb turn more and more into ice, until eventually I launched a full crystal ice orb at the boulder… but it couldn’t reach it. A few more tries, a little more distance gained each time, but never hitting it directly.

 

I look at the path of slush, snow and ice leading from me to the boulder, and see the rock has already dried from the earlier water orb. Anger got the better of me, and I swung my arm down in frustration.

 

_-shing-_

 

What sounded like ice swinging against wind reached my ears. I raise my hand in view and see nothing on it. My ears didn’t deceive me, though…

 

I walked towards the boulder. _Think even smaller_ , I thought to myself. _Think closer_.

 

I stood 2 feet from the boulder, raised my arm forward, and gave it a moderately hard tap against its surface with the side of my fist. I simply struck it bare, nothing special. I paused, retracted my hand, and struck it again with more force, channeling some of my frustration from earlier.

 

Ice. It formed against the side of my fist and struck the boulder, but it shattered immediately after protecting my hand from the impact. I looked at my hand, clasping it shut and opening it again. _Close-range_ , I thought. _Instead of throwing ice, I can use it to strike up close_.

 

But I haven’t really had much practice fighting up close. Sure, I’ve had to brawl a couple of times, but that was back when…

 

I put my hand to my heart, slightly gripping my chest. I put the thought aside for now, and readied myself to punch.

 

I hit it harder, and the ice was summoned again, but shattered the same way it did before. I kept at it; jabs, hooks, straight punches. Eventually the ice stopped shattering and merely cracked, but it faded to mist after use. My arms were starting to feel a bit sore from the impacts, not used to the stress of melee, so I walked back a bit and pondered.

 

Maybe I should focus on creating gauntlets first? That way I can reduce the force of the impacts, and keep the ice on my hands for other strikes. I hold out my right arm and grab the forearm with my left hand, made a fist, and concentrated hardened ice on it.

 

It took a bit, but a gauntlet, albeit crude and ball-shaped, formed around my fist and slightly down my forearm. I swung it around a bit to make sure it was stable, and sure enough, my upper arm was encased in solid ice. I walked up to the boulder again and struck it.

 

The ice stayed intact, cracking only slightly. A bit of willpower and the cracks were patched up, and looking at the boulder, it seems I made a few cracks there as well.

 

I encased my left arm in ice as well, and continued my pugilism against the boulder’s surface for some time. Eventually I was practiced enough with my ice magic to keep the gauntlets completely intact, no matter how hard I struck the boulder. By the time I was satisfied – and somewhat exhausted and sore – the rock’s face was completely covered in cracks and small valleys.

 

Hitting a still rock doesn’t exactly make me a skilled fighter, but I was happy with the results, and a bit excited to be fighting at a different range than I’m used to. There’s a real… _rush_ to melee combat. I let the ice encasing my hands fade into frosty mist, letting it meld with the invisibility of air.

 

I snapped myself out of my thoughts for a moment, though, and looked upwards at the sky and treetops, then the shadows below. When I started, the shadows were small and the sun high in the sky. Now, the sun is somewhat angled lower towards the other side, and the shadows cast a bit longer. I must have been at this, oh… around an hour now. I didn’t realize how much I lost track of time.

 

I took a few minutes to myself. I noticed despite wearing a shawl and full clothing, I wasn’t sweating at all. To be sure, I moved my bangs aside and wiped my brow, and only got a few ice crystals on my sleeve. Any sweat that did form froze instantly. Thoughts of my future weighed on me again, and I worried what would become of me…

 

My ears picked up some voices in the distance. It was very faint, but I could make them out as high-pitched. One a bit deeper and harder to pick up, and one more squeaky… a woman and a girl?

 

I shook my head and put my senses back into the present. As faint and brief as the sounds were, it snapped me out of my mental fog, so I returned to thinking about how to utilize my ice magic.

 

I can shoot out ice orbs, but not forcefully enough to do any real damage. I can encase my hands in an icy gauntlet and hit hard with that, but it puts me at risk of being hit with any number of melee attacks. I feel like I would need at least one more option to keep myself safe…

 

… _a sword_.

 

Eager to turn my imagination into reality, I outstretched my arm completely straight, as well as outstretching my fingers and palm to be completely flat, and weaved ice around them.

 

I used a gauntlet as a base, but shaped it according to my hand position, and started it further towards my wrist. It came out more as a blunt, knife-shaped thing, but I didn’t let that deter me. I slowly let the ice grow and shape further outward, giving it a bit more width and a lot more length, until I was satisfied with it.

 

The result? A blunt, crude, sword-shaped thing.

 

This was fine, as I simply willed the shape of the “sword” down gradually to be flatter, sharper, and more refined, the bulk fading into mist. I felt like a blacksmith without the tools, furnaces, and craftsmanship needed for the profession. I thought it, and the ice just became it.

 

Eventually I shaved and shaped the ice down enough to be a proper blade, flat enough and sharp enough at the edges to, as least to me, cut properly like one. It was just a matter of testing it now. I looked around and saw a baby tree with a thin stem, and swung my newfound blade through it. It cut cleanly through.

 

I chuckled to myself in excitement, but realized that wasn’t much of a test. I looked at the banged-up boulder. If I really wanted to test the stability of this, I had to…

 

After approaching it, I reeled my sword arm back and extended the other for aim, readied myself, and forcefully stabbed the center-

 

It broke.

 

I paused in dismay for a moment, but recovered myself quickly and got to forming the sword again, attaining the sharpness and shape much easier this time. After some test slashes in the air, it felt a lot more firm, so I gave the stab one more try.

 

Posture, aim, and… success! It pierced the hardened rock cleanly, not quite akin to butter, but smooth enough to satisfy. “A-ha!” I said excitedly to myself, and pulled my arm back to raise my sword up in self-indulgent victory~.

 

It was then I realized that I was simply holding my hand up with nothing on it. The sword was lodged in the boulder, and I simply pulled my hand out of the back.

 

I was standing there, looking at the sword with the excited look on my face, for what felt like a full minute. Despair. Much of it, but a bit of relief that no one was around to see that.

 

Ah well, another sword, another attempt. Stabbing and retracting was successful this time, but the sword felt kinda wobbly on my hand. Firming up the ice even more and extending the base down my forearm a bit, I gave it another try, the attack feeling extremely clean. Thankful that I took the time to properly stress test the blade, I admired it for a bit, and added some finishing touches. I grew spikes in every which way at the base, sharpened them, and flattened them. This should double as a guard and a shield of sorts, in case I find myself in a tight spot.

 

I check my environment again. The sun is lower in the sky and the shadows are cast longer. Probably mid afternoon now. I need to get a move on before nightfall.

 

Quickly fitting in a bit more practice, I formed and faded away both my gauntlets and sword, trying to improve the speed at which I summon and unsummon them. Once I was satisfied with that, I practiced combat with both against the air, imagining combat situations in my head and reacting to them to the best of my ability. Sloppy technique, I felt, but I was able to switch in and out of the gauntlets and blade swiftly, feeling able to summon what I needed in various combat scenarios in an instant. I felt inspired from ice magic’s infinite potential, but I needed to turn this practice into experience, head to the city of Arad, and find an inn to rest with haste.

 

I stretched, retrieved my bag, and set out to my path to the darker side of Thunderland once again.

 

* * *

 

 Just like before, the sky seemed to darken the more I walked into this part of the forest. It’s as if the sun never existed here, and the darkness felt palpable enough to touch you. In the distance, I could hear rustling and faint moaning. The undead and outcasts made their home here.

 

I made my way to the strongest source of the noise, keeping my wits about me. The looming, ominous darkness is perfect grounds for an ambush. Were it not for the zombies’ lumbering and the goblins’ ineptitude, I would’ve been caught off guard more than a few times in my first venture here. However, this time the tables will turn.

 

I found myself close to a group of zombies aimlessly wandering, so I set my bag down and hid myself behind bushes, taking note to make sure they aren’t accompanied by any friends. When I saw that the coast was clear, I unearthed myself from the flora, and dashed over to the zombie lagging the farthest behind.

 

- _CRACK-_

 

Quickly encasing my fist in ice, I swung at the zombie’s head, breaking the decayed skull easily and lopping the head clean off. I slugged it in its exposed guts to be thorough, lifting the headless carcass off the ground somewhat before letting it collapse to the ground, motionless. With a collective loud groan, the other undead took notice and made their way to me, arms outstretched and at the pace of a brisk walk.

 

I formed my ice blade.

 

_-SHING- -SHIK- -SNIKT-_

 

With only a few deft cuts, the zombies fell before me one by one, traces of frost on their bodies where they were cut. Just like that, the carcass crowd returned to lifelessness, and the forest a bit safer. I couldn’t help but smirk a little at how well that-

 

_-_ _fwip_ _-_

 

Something flew by the side of my head by only a couple of inches. Startled, I turn around and immediately try to find the source of the projectile, not bothering trying to find out what was shot.

 

“Agh, missed only by tiny bit!”

 

The voice came from above. I look up at the trees, only barely able to see a goblin perched on a branch, aiming a slingshot at me.

 

“Little fish, you took bait!” it exclaimed. “We use dead people as trap for little fish like you. Now you surrounded!”

 

Surrounded? I look around at the trees, and sure enough, I could make out more goblins perched atop trees, some armed with slingshots, some with primitive spears, and a couple with just rocks, cocked to pitch.

 

“Don’t move, make death less painful and quicker for you to be eat!”

 

“ _Clever bastards..._ ” I begrudgingly whisper to myself. Little do they know that I can knock them all right off their pedestals. I lob a few energy orbs at the goblins closest to me.

 

“Haha, too slow!” one of the exclaimed. All of them dodged the shots easily. Indeed, in the heat of the moment, I didn’t consider the slow travel time of the orbs. Still, most goblins didn’t even have the basic capacity to move out of the way, but these ones…

 

A spear was flung by my feet, followed by a cobbled-together grenade. I barely managed to react to the spear, and I flung myself out of the blast radius of the explosion. I didn’t stop to really think, I just launched at the nearest tree housing a goblin and gauntlet-punched it repeatedly with as much force as I could muster, hopefully trying to knock it off balance and have it fall. The goblin simply hunkered down and gripped the tree branch it was on.

 

Trying the next best thing I had, I spawned my sword and started cutting at the trunk. It cut through the tree fairly cleanly, only needing a few chops, and it began to fall. However, instead of hearing the desperate screams of a falling goblin, I simply heard a snicker and a slight thump.

 

I looked up. The goblin was airborne, spear aimed downward at my head. I couldn’t move, the disbelief of what I was seeing paralyzed me. The spear encompassed my field of vision more and more until it…

 

…just, stopped. The goblin was suspended in the air, motionless. “Hey, what going on?!” it yelled in confused desperation, only for it to be flung through the air to my side.

 

I heard what sounded like metal piercing through flesh, a dying gasp, and two voices.

 

“Take the one to the right and get ready, I’ll cut down the trees!”

 

“Got it!”

 

I try to turn around to see the source of the voices, but when I do, all I saw was what seemed like streaks, one red and one gold. It didn’t take long to hear trees collapsing, multiple goblins screaming, and what sounded like something goring through a goblin.

 

I turn around again, and saw bright lights. One slender, effortlessly slicing through the goblins that haplessly fell from their branches, and the other being a set of different colored orbs, colliding and bursting apart at the contact of any goblin it touched. I happened to notice a spear to my right, sticking out from something. Unable to make out the sources of all the destruction happening before me, I rushed over to the spear, seeing that it was fully lodged into a bloodied chest of a goblin, the look of shock on its face permanently etched in from its last moments.

 

The slicing, screams, and explosions turned to silence, and I was finally able to make out my surprise rescuers. A tall woman with long, wavy, deep red hair, downed in oriental dressings of dark blues and purples. The other, a young girl with bright blonde hair with blue tips, dressed head to toe in black clothing interspersed with deep purple sections.

 

They approached me, almost casually.

 

“Close one, huh, kid?” the woman asked. “Yeah, you were almost a shish kebab!” the girl said excitedly, as if amused by her own remark.

 

These voices, from earlier…

 

 

_**-Chapter End-** _


	2. Rose Gold

Hardened ice coats my upper arm. I ready my blade.

 

The two stop their approach. The girl tilts her head in surprised confusion, and the woman gave an evaluating stare, following with a scoff.

  
  
“If that’s how you say ‘Thank you’, I have two ‘You’re welcomes’ right here,” she casually threatens, raising her twin blades in front of her.

 

“Tch,” I quietly scoff back. It was an attempt to come off unfazed, but truthfully, I wanted to let out a bit of my urge to laugh at her wit.

 

“ _We come in peace_ ,” the girl said, as if imitating something. “No really, we do. We beat up all those gobbos to save ya, we wouldn’t have done that if we didn’t mean well.”

 

I keep a cautious glare on her. I’ve heard stories like this before, all pretty dressings to hide a will to take something from me.

 

Oddly, she lets out a joyful smile. “O’course...” The spear gored in one of the earlier goblins disintegrated, then immediately reformed in her hands. She readied herself.

 

“...we could always beat ya down until you can’t move, then help you back up, if you prefer it that way~,” she remarks, clearly meaning her words while keeping her bright smile.

 

I start to ready myself, but considering the sheer speed and power the two displayed, and my current abilities being green as grass, I frustratingly yield, and disperse my blade into light frost.

 

They both lower their weapons, with the woman following up with “Alright, now that we’ve gained his trust, Fi, teleport to him and take his money.”

 

The girl laughs, with the woman letting out a small giggle. “Oh hey, you remembered to call me Fi!” the girl suddenly says, excitedly.

 

“Ha ha,” I reply with sarcastic droll, not willing to laugh along.

 

The woman shakes her head a little in mild disappointment, then says “Now that we’ve broken the ice a little, are you alright? You looked outmatched there, I wouldn’t be surprised if they got a few hits in on you.”

 

I raised my arms out to show my body. “I’m fine,” I reply hesitantly, after a short pause. “And nice pun,” I say, with unamused sarcasm.

 

“Oh… so that was a pun,” she realizes, smiling at herself for not catching it. The girl chimes in, “Your ice powers did look pretty coo- uh… neat, though!”

 

I simply stare at her, hand on my hip.

 

The woman sighs, giving in to my unwillingness to humor them. “Can you give us your name, at least?”

 

I just look at her, not answering. She then tilts her head and raises her eyebrows, gesturing me to go ahead and tell her. I don’t oblige.

 

“Well?”

 

I sigh. “I don’t have a name.”

 

She lets out a slightly mocking chuckle. “You can stop trying to keep that wall up, kid. I promise that we’re not here to take something from you. We just wanna know the name of our little rescue-ee.”

 

I lock eyes to hers for a moment, then let out a slight breath. “How about I tell you my name after you earn my trust?”

 

“You look like you don’t even want to be around us for us to even earn your trust.”

 

“Exactly,” I confirm, turning away. “Thanks for saving me, anyway. I’ll make sure there won’t be a second need for it,” I say while carelessly raising my hand goodbye.

 

I start to make my way back to Elvenguard, but then the girl literally poofed in front of me in a cloud of smoke. She’s blocking my way, arms crossed and face pouted.

 

“If you’re gonna be all mean about us saving you, then we’ll be mean back and walk with you,” she states, keeping her cheeks puffed in a pout.

 

“A-eh… and how is that ‘mean’, exactly?” I ask in frustrated surprise.

 

“Because you don’t want that~,” she teases with an evil smile.

 

The woman walks up beside me, intending to keep me in line to comply. “You’ll just have to deal with the agonizing torture that is socializing with people,” she also teases. “Rain, by the way, since you were so nice to ask.”

 

“This part of the forest has rain?” I chide.

 

“Only on you, kid,” she sharply replies.

 

I glare at her, annoyed. I simply sighed and continued on my way, hearing the two following behind me. I stop and look at them, and they just looked right back. I took some more steps and they continued to follow, so I stopped again, fed up.

 

“Can you please just leave me alone?” I request, refusing to turn my head toward them again.

 

“And let you get ambushed by goblins again?” The woman mockingly replies. “Can’t have that, can we?”

 

“I said I won’t let it happen again,” I say through my teeth. “I know how to handle them next time.”

 

“Except you just admitted that you’ll let it happen again.”

 

“WHA-… urgh,” I turn back at her, wanting to say something, but at a loss of what that would be. Her wit is clearly on point. The girl just has her hand lightly on her mouth, quietly giggling to herself.

 

“I promise I’m a nice person, for the record. It’s just that if you’re gonna act like an ass to the people that saved your life, I’m going to act like an ass right back,” Rain elaborates. “Plus you’re still a kid, so you get special treatment and get the creative version. Normally I’d just lift the person up and smack them against something,” she says while gesturing with her hand, indicating that she’d use whatever power that made the goblin float and get flung around in mid-air.

 

“Listen… there’s something about me I need to keep away from people. I need to do things alone.”

 

“Well I don’t see my skin bubbling or feel my insides coming apart, so I’m sure we’ll be fine~,” Rain jokingly replies, putting her hand on my head and ruffling my hair. I pull my head away and look at her in disbelief, feeling my face get a little hot. She makes a big smile at me with a slight chuckle. I must’ve been blushing pretty noticeably.

 

The girl, Fi, snuck her hand on my head while I was distracted, mimicking Rain and ruffling my hair. I flail my hands at her arm to get it off, exclaiming “S-stop it!” She cackles loudly, clearly enjoying her teasing way too much.

 

“We found a weak spot~♩! Maybe we should just mess up his hair the whole walk through!”

 

“Hehe, no no, that’s too much. We have to make him like us, not hate us,” Rain counters.

 

“Too late for that, I think,” she replies, almost smug. I just held my head the whole time, keeping quiet and stewing in my embarrassed frustration, hoping they’d eventually go away.

 

At that moment, I realized that I left my bag behind, and while overcome with panic at first, I realized this is the perfect opportunity to get away.

 

“Gah! My bag… I need to go back and get it, I’ll be back so-”

 

“You mean this?” Rain interrupted, holding out my ticket of escape right in her hands.

 

“Wait, how… how have you been holding onto that without me seeing it until now?” I ask, dumbfounded. It’s about the length of me, it’s unmissable.

 

“What, you don’t know yet?”

 

I just look at her, confused as to what the hell she was talking about.

 

“Hehe, you’re a silly one,” she patronized, patting my head again. I pushed her hand off and levitated the bag out of her hand, wrapping the strap around my shoulder.

 

“’bout that,” Fi interjected, “is that magic you’ve been using, or something else? Ever since I came to Arad, I’ve seen a lot of people usin’ these crazy gadgets that function almost exactly like magic, so I dunno anymore.”

 

A bit confused, I reply simply “It’s magic.”

 

“Guess you were able to defend yourself pretty well in the Big Apple, huh?”

 

I was offended that she had to bring up those desperate days back, but in the interest of not causing a scene and stopping movement, I said “Yeah,” quietly between my teeth.

 

Fi tilted her head, catching onto the fact that something was wrong, but she didn’t press into it further.

 

“What’s up with that, by the way?” Rain asked out of the blue.

 

“With what?”

 

“That.” She pointed towards the puff of vapor coming from my breaths. “You’re a bit cold to the touch, too. The woods are nice and cozy this time of year, so I don’t know how you’re living like it’s wintertime.”

 

“I’ll choose not to answer that.”

 

“Hmph. That dedicated to your craft, huh? Have to keep your trade secrets?”

 

“Sure, let’s go with that.”

 

She smiled and shook her head, dropping the subject after knowing I won’t buckle. Taking my attention away from the pestering conversations for once, though, I realized we were well out of Shadow Thunderland by now, and just near Elvenguard.

 

“I, -ahem-, need to make a stop here. I promised a girl that I’d visit her before heading to Arad.”

 

“Awww, our little frosty has a girlfriend~!” Rain sarcastically chided.

 

“It’s not like that!” I barked back. She raised her eyebrow at me, as if to say ‘Sure it isn’t’.

 

“I bet Mr. Cold, Dark, and Mysterious has lotsa fans. We should go meet her!” Fi suggested excitedly.

 

“No, you wo-” I stopped myself, remembering the fruitlessness of denying these two their whims. “Ugh, fine… do whatever. But let me say what I need to say to her.”

 

“Just because we’re excited to meet your friend doesn’t mean we forgot our manners, kid,” Rain retorted. I look at her wanting to say something, but I couldn’t really argue with her consideration.

 

I saw Linus not far from where I was, speaking with someone else with their weapon on his anvil. He was clearly busy, so I let him be. I turn to the tree with a portal door to my left, the place Seria said she’d be in.

 

“Brings new meaning to the word ‘Treehouse’,” Rain joked. I just groan and make my way towards the portal, waving the two to follow along, as they so insisted.

 

* * *

 

Coming through the portal, I see an extremely calming and well-constructed room, its space going well beyond the girth of the trunk the portal is attached to. Despite that, various growths of a tree and its leaves are scattered throughout the room, keeping the theme of its origin. I notice another portal to my right, though it’s gated off. There’s also a large, wooden safe to the left of the room, lined with bright silver. It sat just beside a small elevated platform leading to the rest of the room, where Seria was, seemingly organizing a desk full of books and various papers just under a staircase walkway.

 

Seria turned towards us, hearing us coming in, and her curious expression quickly turned into a bright, warm smile. I always felt a little nervous whenever she smiled at me like that.

 

“Oh, you’re back! And you already made some friends! How delightful~!” she exclaimed, approaching the end of her platform, hands clasped in excitement to hear what we had to say.

 

“I don’t think the kid considers us ‘friends’ yet, but he’s cute, so we might stick around,” Rain says bluntly.

 

Seria giggled. She then looked at Fi and asked “And you?”

 

She just shrugged and said “I just tagged along with the pretty redhead swordlady here for a quest since she offered to help, and we ended up bumpin’ into this guy. Now we’re here.”

 

“Something about the look on his face tells me there’s more to the story than that,” Seria sweetly teased. I just look down mildly annoyed and followed her up with “I’d rather not talk about it.”

 

Seria giggled again. While I felt embarrassed at her remark, hearing her laugh always somehow manages to lighten my mood.

 

“So, what are your names, then?” Seria asked.

 

“Rain,” she replied straightforwardly. “I’m Firre, but you can call me Fi for short!” the other replied excitedly.

 

“And this…” Rain starts, pointing at me, “… is No Name Mystery Man.”

 

“He didn’t tell you his name either, hm?” Seria asked, a tinge of disappointment in her voice. Rain shook her head, her lower lip slightly pouted.

 

“He told me specifically ‘I’ll tell you my name when the time is right’,” Seria explains.

 

Rain lightly punched me on the arm, saying “You really are one edgy kid, aren’t you? But look at you, you got your girl wrapped around your finger, smiling sunbeams when she sees you.”

 

Seria couldn’t help herself but laugh, waving her hand a bit after catching herself, as if dismissing the idea ever happening. I couldn’t help but feel a little hurt, though, since I was thinking about something happening with us… maybe if I just warm up to her more, we can-

 

“I’m Seria Kirmin,” she introduces herself with a curtsy, interrupting my thoughts. Rain holds a hand to her chest and bows slightly, while Fi clasps her hands to her pelvis and does a full bow.

 

“Well, my young savior, I did promise to thank you for your help,” Seria stated, making eye contact with me, with her trademark warm smile.

 

“Savior? Really, kid, what aren’t you telling us?” Rain interjected.

 

“Oh, he never told you?” Seria asked, somewhat surprised. “Well...”

 

She explained how she was trapped by something called “The Nightmare” in the forest, and how I happened upon her trying to find my way around the land, saving her instinctively. She then explained how she took me to this room, offering it as a home with many amenities to help get me started, all while giving me the rundown on Arad and the local area surrounding it. I declined her offer to help at first, but she insisted, and I’ve been helping clean things up in Elvenguard as thanks for her hospitality.

 

“Wow, a regular born hero. I knew I saw something in you, kid,” Rain said, turning to me with an earnest smile.

 

Averting her gaze, I clarified “I wouldn’t go around calling me ‘Hero’. If you knew the things I’ve done in the past, you’d be quick to think otherwise.”

 

“And?” Rain asked. I look back at her in mild confusion, and saw a different expression on her face. That sarcastic veneer she’s been sporting is completely dropped, now replaced with complete sincerity.

 

“Actions speak. I don’t have to know your past to see that you not only saving this girl, but going out of your way to make this place safer out of a need to repay generosity, means you have a good heart. Telling me your past would surprise me, at best, but you clearly aren’t stuck there if we’re all here, hearing tales of your heroism from the very person you saved.”

 

I… couldn’t find the words to reply. No one has really stared me directly in the eyes and just said things like that to me before. As I stood there dumbfounded, Rain just gave me an earnest smile, one I’ve only seen from Seria so far.

 

“She’s right,” Seria followed up. “What you do now defines you, not who you were before. If you were to confide in me your past, something tells me that your actions back then were because you were mislead. Your eyes don’t show cruelty, they haven’t since we first met.”

 

I could feel the urge of my eyes wanting to well up. I bit my tongue and managed to keep my composure intact, despite not knowing how to handle all these words.

 

“I need a bit,” I requested, to which Rain and Seria nodded quietly. I turned towards the wall nearest to me to lean against and gather my thoughts, but Fi gestured open arms to me with a concerned look on her face, as if silently asking if I needed a hug. I lightly waved her off of the idea, to her disappointment, and went towards the wall.

 

Seria continued to introduce herself proper to Rain and Fi, offering much of the same things she offered me. Fi accepted wholeheartedly, and asked to have a look around, to which Seria accepted. She then excitedly explored the room, getting her hands into everything and admiring Seria’s belongings. Rain accepted her offer of amenities, but as for a home, she said she needed to think about it. Something about the way she said it implied hidden meaning, to which I think Seria noticed, but she respectfully accepted.

 

All the while I watched this unfold, I felt alien in my own skin. Something about everything I’m seeing felt wrong. It felt wrong just standing in here, in such… I don’t know, comfort and positivity.

 

This isn’t Pandemonium. This is somewhere else, and I don’t know how to feel about it. I guess the gravity of their words were really starting to dawn on me. I was just doing what I did for Seria and the people of this forest without really thinking about it.

 

Am I really just doing this for myself, or…?

 

“Yo, No Name,” I heard a voice call. It took me a second to knock myself out of my trance, but I looked where I heard the call and saw it was Rain. She pointed towards Seria with her thumb, telling me she wanted my attention.

 

“Yes, um...” Seria started. “Did you decide what you wanted to do with your magic?”

 

I caught Fi getting snapped out of her fascination and immediately turned her head my way, proceeding to run over to our location to listen in.

 

“Uh… yeah.” I made my way to Seria, stood in front of her, and lightly held out my hand. I then slowly crystallized ice from the tips of my fingers down to my forearm, forming a gauntlet. Fi was noticeably intrigued.

 

“I decided to specialize in ice magic.”

 

Seria was quite curious. “Specialize, you say? How so?”

 

“I’m… not sure yet, honestly.” I look at my gauntlet for a bit, turning my arm around. “I guess it’s the creativity it offers? You can form and meld ice into any shape, and I found that flexibility enticing. If I can train myself to summon whatever I can think of instantly, and harden the ice enough to stay stable, too, there’s really no telling how many things I can create for any situation.”

 

I look at Seria, and the others, and they’re all listening attentively. “I mean, I can do that with any element or form of magic, but there’s something about creating hard and tangible objects on a whim that isn’t quite like those other avenues.”

 

I extend the ice on my arm to form a blade, to the surprise of Seria. Rain’s interest piqued particularly, staring at it as if thinking something over.

 

“Besides, with ice and water, I can choose to pacify my enemies instead of kill them, if the situation calls for it. You can’t do that with fire or darkness, they’re designed to inflict pain by nature. You can with lightning, but only briefly, as pushing the shock too far would cause their organs to fail.”

 

I dissipate all the ice into vapor. “I’m still trying to figure out exactly what I want to do with it, but… I can’t really think of a limit I can reach.”

 

“Question!” Fi interjected, raising her hand. “You don’t have a catalyst with ya. How did you do that?”

“A catalyst?” Rain asked, confused.

 

“Yeah, like a staff or rod or somethin’. It can be anythin’, really, but you need one to be able to channel your mana. So??”

 

I panicked internally. How could I be so dense as to forget that part of my cover…?

 

“What do you mean?” I ask, hiding my nervousness. “My staff is over there.” I point over to the bag I left leaning against Seria’s safe.

 

“But… that’s too far away from ya. You have to have it floatin’ by ya at least somewhat close to channel properly…”

 

I stared at her, unable to answer. It’s then that Fi’s face turned from that of confusion, to deep worry.

 

She… she didn’t know, did she…?

 

“I’m sure the kid is hiding some clever tricks,” Rain assured suddenly. “He probably learned them from that dark past of his that he’s so tight-lipped about.”

 

“Yeah…” Fi conceded. She then glared at me with suspicion and quiet anger.

 

I felt uneasy. She’s from Pandemonium, too, so I guess it was only a matter of time until she caught on, her being a mage not helping. How could I be so stupid…?

 

“Well!” Seria clapped her hands together excitedly. “I believe I’ve borrowed all your time long enough. Arad is waiting for adventurers like you to help them, so I imagine you’d all want to be on your way. Please keep in mind that everything in this room is yours, should you need it, and please, visit often. I’m going to to try and find more ways to help you, I just need more time to gather myself.”

 

We all meet her eyes, and nod in agreement. “Right, I’m sure we all have business to attend to,” I confirm. I make my way towards my bag and sling the strap over my shoulder.

 

“Do any of you need directions?” Seria kindly asked.

 

“No, thank you, Linus informed me already,” I assure.

 

“I’m actually coming from Arad, so I know my way around,” Rain replied.

 

“I know the way,” Fi said sternly. She’s clearly still holding in a lot of emotions.

 

“Then I wish you all well, and hope to see you soon~!” Seria said warmly, clasping her hands close to her chest, and giving that signature bright smile.

 

We all make our way to the portal we came in from together. My uneasiness refused to wane, however. I knew I would have to dig up old demons at any point after leaving this room…

 

 

_**-Chapter End-** _


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